On Christmas Trees

I was taking out our Christmas Tree and throwing it on the rubbish pile with the branches left over from the November storms. I had taken a walk the night before and seen in some neighbors’ windows the still decorated artificial trees up and with lights on. The contrast struck me.

I imagine that some folks are leaving their trees up to “extend the season” or keep the sentiment of the season alive somehow. The difference between using an artificial tree to prop up a feeling versus the fact of a real, cut tree dying and needing to be removed is pretty significant. I wonder if it’s not a metaphor for life.

For our family, cutting down a live tree (or buying a recently cut tree live tree) and decorating it is a tradition. One key issue with a live tree is that no matter how hard I work at it, it eventually dries up and starts losing its needles. Sometimes the tree lasts well past Christmas, but it always eventually must come down. We enjoy the look of the tree while it is up (and the smell of the tree, too). We enjoy the lights and the decorations. But, it’s temporary.

That’s the way it is with life, too. Our life here is temporary. We can enjoy things about this life, we put effort into making this life positive and even delightful, but it’s temporary. I think many people invest in life like an artificial tree, with the illusion that it can just keep going.

The Bible actually has something significant to say about this. Whether is it the words of Jesus, Himself, that we are not to be anxious about the stuff of life, but keep our focus on the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:25-33) or the Apostle John saying that that if we love this world then the love of God is not in us (1 John 2:15-17), Scripture tells us that the “stage” for our current of life is not to be our primary focus.

I wonder, sometimes, if part of our struggle as contemporary American Christians is that we moved from “too spiritually minded to be any earthly good” to trying to be “relevant” but really wound up simply opening the door for worldliness, that is love for this life as opposed to living in the reality there is an unseen world that is eternal and is our true home. We, perhaps, need to think more about the fact that there is a real heaven and a real hell and people are going to populate one or the other for all eternity based on their faith in Jesus Christ.

Maybe it’s time to reclaim a stronger emphasis on “seeking first the Kingdom of God,” both in evangelism and in the daily life of discipleship.

Pursue Christ – He is enough,

            Pastor Jeff

PS – Just so there is no confusion, I am not advocating live Christmas trees over artificial ones for your personal family Christmas. 😊

Gift-givers

Someone gave me a gift this last week. It was something they thought I would enjoy (and they were correct!). It was a kind gesture that showed both that the person was thinking of me and that they knew me well enough to “get it right.”

The Magi brought gifts to the child Messiah. Christ is a gift to us and through Him we receive manifold gifts (“every spiritual blessing”). Then there is this interesting teaching in Scripture about “spiritual gifts” (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Peter 4). These are gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, not to keep, but to give away. That’s the amazing thing about God’s gifts; we give them away and they don’t lessen. In fact, they grow.

Part of what has fascinated me about these gifts which we have been given is that they are expressions of grace. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts as a grace, true. Also, however, when we use the gifts given to us, we are expressing God’s grace to others. Imagine that! You have a way to express God’s grace to others. Let me pause here for a moment…what does it mean that I have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to be a blessing to those around me? Do we even think in these terms ordinarily?

Our world so quickly collapses into the concerns and aspirations that “I” have, instead of expanding out to the glories and action of God. I would call this the pattern of selfishness that is so ingrained in us by sin, yet we are made new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), and our new “natural” self (maybe we should say “supernatural self”) doesn’t have to be trapped in this very small and sad way of looking at the world. I am regularly drawn to the phrase in Colossians 1:16 that we where created “for him” – the him being the Son. So, if I am created for Christ and given gifts by the Holy Spirit to be a blessing for others…ought this not be a key purpose in my life?

This way of thinking (is this part of the renewed mind?) addresses two issues that I hear frequently: 1. I don’t really have anything to offer. Not true, you do. In Christ, you have been given something that we all need, some way to enhance ministry and express God’s grace. So, be encouraged! 2. I don’t really need to offer anything. Not true, you do. Christian community is not a spectator experience, you are on the field and the whole team benefits from your participation. So, be encouraged!

We have gifts that are designed by the Holy Spirit to be used/given for the good of others. As we give these gifts (by exercising them) we bless others and express God’s grace. I think that’s pretty cool!

Pursue Christ – He is enough,

            Pastor Jeff